The Lions, the Lamb and the Witcher
by coop500
Summary: Geralt happens across a small village in Skellige with a notice on the board about a boy's missing sister, with a magically dangerous neighboring village with unusual traditions.


It was a cool morning in Skellige, a certain white haired Witcher was making his way down a goat path towards a rather small village in the distance. He was looking for work and hoping to get some in one of these out of way places, deep within the wilderness and away from most others. As he began to walk into the village, everything seemed normal, the usual strange comments about axes and giant's head on one's mantle from the warriors protecting the village. A few small children were playing with a frog in a puddle, which Geralt walked around them slowly to try and not disturb them or make them nervous. It seemed to work as his yellow eyes scanned around, looking for signs of someone in need or stressed out, but he didn't really see anything off. They didn't have a tavern here, but there was a board, if a rather small and rotting one.

With a deep grumble, he walked up to it, a black and white cat that was sitting by it hissed and ran off but the Witcher was so used to cats hissing at him for what he was that he paid it no mind. Instead he inspected the board, at first seeing nothing of interest, but then one note caught his attention. It wasn't the obvious searching for a Witcher to slay a monster kind of ad, but hunting monsters is not all that Witchers did. It was a boy asking for someone to help him find his missing little sister, shouldn't be too hard for him, though the ending might be a little gruesome, depending on how long the child has been gone and where she went. The wilds were filled with monsters and hungry animals, none of them had any qualms against devouring a wee human girl.

The notice didn't have much else on it besides the name of the boy, Zadak and the name of the missing girl, Nida. Geralt took the contract and slipped it into a pouch, rolled up before he turned, looking to see who looked like a brother worrying over his little sister. Given most of the village was elderly or mature men and women, the teenage boy wasn't hard to spot, a scrawny brown haired pale skinned boy wearing the usual furs like the others on Skellige, sitting on a stump and looking rather down about something. Figuring that must be him, the Witcher calmly walked over to him, the boy not noticing Geralt was there until he spoke. "You Zadak? " He asked in a rather deep voice, though it was oddly quiet and he tried not to sound threatening. He flinched at first, obviously not expecting anyone to speak to him, much less a stranger.

There was a visible nervous swallow after the whelp of a lad looked up at the Witcher, the appearance of the older man was a bit unnerving after all, piercing yellow eyes staring down at him expectantly while being clad in leather studded and chainmail armor, the iconic two swords on his back and a gnarly scar over one eye, followed with other smaller scars, one on his forehead on the other side and a smaller one on his nose. "Um... yes that's me, who are you? " He asked, managing to keep his voice from stuttering. Geralt wasn't oblivious though, he could tell he was making the boy nervous, but there wasn't much he could do about it either. He made lots of people nervous, even hardened soldiers would be wise to respect a Witcher's poweress and skill.

"Geralt of Rivia, saw your notice about your missing sister. What else can you tell me? When did she go missing? " He asked, partly hoping now if he knew his intentions it would calm him down. The boy did straighten up, but didn't get up from the stump. "I was making us some stew one night and one of the elders here, a woman suggested to go pick these brown mushrooms for the dish, that they were edible and went with goat stew well. Nida got excited and said she'd go pick some, I told her to stay close to the village because it was dark and dangerous, but... Once she left, she never came back. " Zadak lowered his head then, hands tightening to fists. "I tried looking for her, for days I tried, but... I'm no fighter Witcher, I'm just a whelp. I don't know where she went but she must have went further from the village than we agreed. " He stated, sounding a bit ashamed of himself.

Geralt slowly nodded, lips pressed into a firm line in thought. "I'll ask the woman about these mushrooms, is there anything else you can tell me? " He asked, shifting his weight a little on his feet. Zadak shrugged, but stayed quiet in thought, a rather grim look on his face. "Not... not too far from here is another village, about the same size but... Something's wrong with them, they're like... cannibals, eating each other every 30 or so years. It's... it's not unheard of for them to eat outsiders either. Nida was strangely curious about them, but it's really not safe for a kid or anyone to go see them. Except... maybe you I guess. "He explained, a small shudder coming from his shoulders afterwards, probably at the grim thought of what might have befallen his sister.

The Witcher wasn't affected of course, he heard and seen worse, though it didn't mean he thought nothing of it, the death of a child was never pleasant. "I'll see what I can do, thanks for the info. " Of course Geralt wasn't going to assure him anything, as he wasn't one to sugarcoat anything or make empty promises. However as he turned to walk away, Zadak spoke up again. "Wait, Witcher... I know your kind likes being paid but... I wasn't expecting a Witcher to take the job, I don't have much coin to spare, still willing to help? " He asked worriedly, standing up now. However Geralt expected the pay to be low, but it really didn't matter, he wasn't that hard up and only the coldest of Witchers would not help at this point. If nothing else, any coin was better than none. "Yes. " He answered, before walking away to find the lady. He decided to skip asking about the mushrooms though and more so wanted to find the location of this village.

Zadak sighed in relief, though he was still a little nervous about accidentally angering the Witcher, he sat back down and took a breath, hoping his sister was okay. Meanwhile it didn't take Geralt long to spot a older woman with a basket of mushrooms, assuming that's the right one. "Oh Witcher, I saw ye talkin' to that young lad, about his sister I assume? " She asked, the white haired man giving a bow of his head in confirmation. "Good on ye, the dear has been worried sick, rightfully so. What can I do for ye? " She asked, seemingly sweet. "Need to know where the nearby village is, the cannibal one. " The woman frowned to that, shaking her head. "They're not cannibals, at least, not in the usual sense. They do it to help the next generation of their people, pass on their knowledge and memories in the most ultimate way. They're mostly harmless to others as long as people stay 'way. " She explained, not wanting the Witcher to go over and slaughter them all.

Geralt had his doubts, though if it was true that knowledge and memories really were being passed along, chances were that magic was involved somehow, or maybe a curse. "Still need to know where it is, Nida might have gone there. " The Witcher further pressed, the lady getting a rather sad look on her face. "If she did, it might be too late for the dear, they'll be starting their ritual soon, if it's not done already. But.. if you're so inclined to find her, head East until you see a boulder painted red, then follow the trail that stems from it. " She explained carefully, almost like she didn't want to as she was worried for the people, but she also felt the Witcher had every right to know if it meant he could bring the girl home safely. "Thank you, I'll be off. " He told her, bowing his head before turning around, looking up at the sun for a moment to judge what time it was and thus, what was East. It didn't take him long to figure it out and soon he was off.

As he began to leave the village though, he spotted small bare foot prints in the dirt, must be the child's. "Nida went this way, didn't have any shoes but was merely walking. " He said to himself while inspecting the little prints. After he was satisfied he stood up, following her instructions and noticing the prints followed. "Nida definitely went to the village, wonder how she knew which direction to go." He mused that maybe the woman told her in passing, or maybe not so much in passing. He followed her prints now, which did swerve a little, maybe she was getting lost or something, but then she took a sudden hard turn. Pausing to look around, he saw the red rock in the distance, of course she likely saw it and went to it. The closer to the rock he got, the quieter the forest suddenly fell... no birds, no squirrels, no crickets, nothing. The child's footprints wandered around the rock for awhile, before finally they went off along the old trail that was barely visible. Nature was clearly trying to reclaim the ground and given how unused the path was, it might win.

"Looks like Zadak was right, she was heading here. " He muttered, sighing as he felt a tinge of dread in his heart as he walked along, no longer watching the prints and just focusing on his surroundings. The forest got more dense and thick as he went along, before at last he saw a few houses through the trees, there probably being more. His medallion started to vibrate as he got closer, indicating magic was at work here in some form or another. There was a woman by the entrance, holding a shield and a axe, frowning at the coming Witcher. "Who are you? " She asked as he approached, distrust in her eyes as she spotted his swords and general intimidating aura. "Name's Geralt, came here looking for a little girl, goes by Nida. " He explained, being as civil as he could be as he didn't want to give them any reason to think he was here for malicious for them purposes.

"I know what you are Witcher, you can come in but we'll be watching. I assure you though there's no kids here. " She stepped aside, but had her eyes narrowed and axe at the ready. "I'll be the judge of that. " Geralt walked by her, giving her a sideways glance as he spoke, not about to just turn back now. "Careful, you're infertile with loads of... delicious knowledge, could tempt one of us. " She called to him as he walked away, but she didn't get an answer from him, not that he didn't hear. If she knew what he was, he felt that must mean she should know he was not a force to cross, but he planned to stay on guard still , in case someone got stupid. Instead he focused on the dirt, spotting lots of shoe covered, adult sized prints... at first that's all he saw, but then he spotted the occasional tiny bare footprint that wasn't trampled. "She was here... " He muttered, sighing heavily. One good thing is children didn't have a lot of knowledge to take so... maybe, just maybe she was still alive somewhere.

The village was a little bigger than the last one he was in, which was surprising given the nature of it's people. As he explored, he spotted various people lounging around with engorged stomachs, clothes ripped up, some looked like whatever they ate, or... whoever, was mostly digested, while others were still moving inside. Of course... they were not cooking and eating people, they were eating them whole and alive, must be another part of the magic. It didn't disturb him too much though, after all he did have minor experience with the process of swallowing a person whole. but he didn't hurt them either so.. that was different. As he walked, a woman that... probably could use more to wear walked up to him, stomach lightly bulging but it seemed soupy and soft. "Well hello there handsome~ " She cooed, running her hand over his shoulder with a sly smile.

Geralt paused but gave a stern look, watching as she circled him. "I must say, I never seen a Witcher before~ Can't help but wonder... what one would taste like. Don't suppose you'd be interested in retiring would you~? You look old, tired, surely it'd be a wonderful time to hang up those blades and just... relax~ Let me... melt away your troubles and aches~" She cooed, voice thick like honey and full of temptation. But Geralt wasn't so easily fooled and shrugged her hand off of him, continuing to walk. "No, guess you gotta keep wondering, not going to find out today. " He said gruffly, but watched her out of the corner of his eye as she huffed, rolling her eyes. "Why even are you here then? " She asked, now her voice more like venom as she sounded offended. "Looking for a child, little girl to be exact, name's Nida. " He answered, stopping and turning around now.

"And what makes you think she's here? " The woman asked, hands on her hip. The Witcher glanced around, debating if he should tell her or not. "Saw her footprints come this way, then saw some of them in the village. "A child? Here? I never saw her, we're not monsters that kidnap little girls, Witcher. " She said, seeming to be on the defensive. Geralt had his doubts but... he didn't know all that went on here so he tried to withhold judgement. "Hmm, don't care what you do to each other, just want the kid. " He stated, which was true, if they kept it to themselves then far as he was concerned they can do whatever they want, just when they forced outsiders to it and when he had a problem. She lowered her arms to her side, hips swaying a bit. "You don't trust us, that much is obvious... but don't worry, everyone devoured here gave consent or are disabled, injured beyond healing. If the girl is here, as long as she doesn't say yes to anyone's offer, she'll be fine. " She explained, hoping it'd placate the Witcher.

Geralt wasn't sure if he should believe her, but it was still a small comfort. "Hope that's true. " He stated simply, before he began to walk away, needing to get back to his search. She didn't say anything else and went the other way, perhaps to try and tempt someone else. Geralt paid her no mind though and instead began to nose around and behind houses, trying to search for more prints. He did end up spotting more of Nida's tracks, making him crouch down and inspect them. "Deeper than the others, also rushed... looks like she was running. " That set a uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach, maybe not everyone followed the rules... He followed the prints for awhile but he was soon interrupted by a new voice, this one was male. "You looking for that little squirt? " A man asked, arms crossed over his chest. He had messy brown hair and was wearing a green tunic, with a oddly... knowing smirk.

The Witcher glared a bit, though the man's stomach looked empty. " I offered her a nice long rest~ After all that time she spent walking here... Figured she could use it, plus she came here for a reason right?" the smirk turned into a grin as this strange man rested a hand on his middle. The Witcher moved to draw his steel blade, clearly suspecting the worst. "Alas she told me no and took off running, shame too, I'm starving. " The man quickly finished, clearly noticing the aggressive gesture but not seeming afraid. "Did you chase her? " Geralt questioned, hand still on the handle but not drawing yet. The strange man didn't answer right away, letting it linger in the Witcher's mind but soon enough spoke before Geralt did anything rash. "No, relax I didn't chase her, willing rule and all that. But tell me Witcher... you have a look about you, have you ever eaten a child before? " He asked, tilting his head.

The question took him off guard a bit, not sure what kind of look he had that made the man ask. Of course a few little children found shelter in the Witcher's warm, gentle belly until they were let out somewhere safer, but that wasn't knowledge he wanted to be spread around, especially given his kind had enough troubles with reputation, himself as a individual was even more colorful, he really didn't need to add child eater to the list of names. It was done to protect the children and nothing more, so he didn't want to give this stranger any ideas. "Not here to answer weird questions, I just need to find that girl. " He answered gruffly, but relaxed and moved his hands from his sword. "Now if you don't mind, I'd like to get back to work. " He added, crouching down again to inspect the prints.

The man chuckled, amused from Geralt's refusal to answer. "I'll take that as a yes, I can't help but wonder why and what your plans may be for Nida. But I best get back to the wife myself, good hunting Witcher. " The stranger bowed his head and walked off, leaving Geralt to his work, though after muddling his thoughts a little. He shook his head to try and get back on track, standing up and following thee panicked footprints, which weaved around a few trees in the surrounding woods, but the houses of the village were still not that far away. He thought they would slow down soon as he didn't see any other prints, showing she wasn't being chased, or at least not from behind. The Witcher kept following the tracks, weaving through brush and weeds until he happened across a small clearing behind a larger than the others house.

The tracks here changed, hers suddenly stopped and looked like they tried to take a sharp turn back the other way but then... it was like she vanished, no more prints of hers anywhere. "Stopped here, tried to stumble back but was too slow... maybe someone picked her up. " He said to himself, spotting another set of tracks, boots, larger than the child's. "Adult, likely someone from the village, probably the one that grabbed her. " So Geralt had a new set of tracks to follow. They didn't go far though, stopping in front of trap doors in the back of the larger house. "Looks like they went into the basement, can't be good. " He reached down to try and open them, but they were locked. He could try to get a key from someone if he could figure out who's house this was. But... that could take time, time he didn't have to spare. The wood was rotting, old, strong enough to withstand average wear and tear but... Aard should likely make quick work of it.

Geralt stepped back to get some distance, before thrusting his hand out, a blue wave of magic shooting out and blasting against the aging wood. Splinters and larger chunks of wood shattered and flew both into the basement and some flew out and aside. He covered his face with his free hand to keep wood bits out of his eyes. "What the?! Where did the doors go?! " Geralt heard a voice ask, sounding female, but not like the previous two girls he met here. No... it sounded more like the old lady back in the first village, with Zadak. Frowning, the Witcher slowly drew his steel sword and peered in, seeing the woman glaring up at him, right next to her in a chair was the child in question, tied and gagged, but she mumbled and wiggled more in her restrains to see a possible savior.

"You! How dare you! I never should have told you how to get here! " The older woman shouted, clearly furious. "You're disrupting a very special event here, this girl will have the honor of becoming a new member of the community, to bring fresh blood from the outside world." She explained, arms swaying around wildly. "What do you mean? " Geralt asked warily, slowly stepping down the stairs, sword at the ready but not striking yet. "Today is the great feast, the people will devour the weak and the ones ready to move on, passing their knowledge to their betters, but in case you haven't noticed this hurts the population, we need outsiders to come and stay, to live here and have children of their own. That's why I brought Nida here... just an orphan, no one would miss her besides her useless brother, she'll stay here, grow up, have a family and then, when the time comes, 40 years from now maybe, her knowledge will be passed onto her offspring, just as it should. " Geralt frowned, cat eyes narrowing in disapproval of her words. "No, she is going back to her brother. " He responded sternly, marching towards the girl, but the woman stepped between them. If she was a normal older lady, Geralt likely wouldn't have any trouble overpowering her, but he wasn't sure and even then, he wasn't a harsh man and didn't really go around hurting old ladies. "She's only leaving here one way, either when she's willing to live here with us, or in a stomach if she proves to be too defiant. " She told the Witcher despite the possible danger there was to standing up to someone like him. Part of him was tempted to resort to more violent means, but after gripping his sword tightly, he sighed and sheathed it. "Fine, stomach it is. " He drew a small knife from his belt then and swiftly weaved around the woman, crouching and starting to cut the ropes. "What? What do you mean? Hey stop that! " She slapped at the hand that held the knife, but the Witcher didn't hardly flinch. "If she must leave in a stomach, then so be it. " He repeated, the ropes on the child's hands now free as he worked on her feet. The girl meanwhile was nervous, reaching up to pull her gag free so she could speak. "W-wait, you're not... gonna eat me are you? The village rules says t-that I have to agree. " The young one said, the older woman nodding in agreement. "That's right and it looks like she's not giving permission anytime soon, plus we haven't even asked if she wants to stay yet! " Soon her feet were cut free and Geralt stood up, glancing behind him at the lady. "Not from the village, don't have to follow the rules. " The Witcher let out a heavy breath, before turning back to the girl, who nervously shifted in her chair.

"Not going to hurt you, just wanna bring you back to your brother. " Geralt assured, before reaching down to scoop the child up in his arms. "You-you monster! Think you can just come in here and take whatever you want, break our rules! " The older lady huffed, but knowing there wasn't much she could do about it, a small child she could overpower and tie up, but a armored, powerful Witcher would be a bad idea. Geralt ignored her of course and opened his mouth, gently easing Nida's head into his jaws. The girl did wiggle a little nervously in his hold, understandably unsure about being swallowed whole, especially by a Witcher. But like the woman there also wasn't a whole lot she could do about it, all she could do was hope he was telling the truth, that he would bring her back to her brother, because she missed him, missed him a lot.

With the first, powerful swallow, Nida's head slipped down inside of Geralt's throat, followed with another swallow, her shoulders being eased into his jaws and gently squished down his throat. He tried to be as nice as he could about it, his soft warm innards helped as Skellige was a cold, harsh land, the child couldn't deny the warmth felt nice. Geralt began consuming her torso next, the small one slipping down deeper and deeper as he swallowed, making fairly quick work of her. While the Witcher was devouring the child though, the woman soon stormed out of the basement without a word. She might go tell the others what happened, which could be bad, but the girl wasn't struggling anymore, maybe she'd vouch for Geralt if he needed it.

He ignored that for now and instead tipped his head back, holding her knees up above him as her waist was next to slip down inside. The little one did give a slightly nervous wiggle again, but she was way too deep inside to turn back unless Geralt purposely coughed her back up. Deep down she knew this was the safest way out, if he was telling the truth that he won't hurt her. After a few more soft gulps, her legs slipped down his throat to join the rest of her easing into his tummy. The leather and chain armor stretched a bit to accommodate the little one, thankfully Witchers don't wear plate and preferred armor with some flexibility, not really for this purpose but it happened to work out well for Geralt and Nida both.

It was rather tight still, especially in his chest, which made it hard for the girl and Witcher both to breathe for a moment, but it passed by soon enough as the soft flesh gave away, letting her slide down headfirst into the warm chamber that was his belly. It was dark with no real light anywhere, but after some careful shifting and pushing around, she was able to sit upright, hugging her knees to her chest as the stomach cradled her gently inside. The darkness was a bit scary, the child nervously swallowing, but the warmth was comforting and so was the softness. If she was honest with herself, it wasn't as bad as she thought it would be, nothing hurt or felt weird, at least not in a dangerous way, maybe the Witcher was telling the truth and somehow he was able to keep her safe in here.

The Witcher wiped his mouth with his glove, a little bit of drool on his lips that was bugging him. After that he gave a delicate rub to his middle, making sure not to accidentally squish her in there. "You alright in there Nida? " He asked, making sure everything was okay as he couldn't see her, not really. He felt her shift around inside of him, small limbs pressing against muscular stomach walls, followed with a soft, muffled but understandable voice. "Y-yes I'm okay... you know my name? " She asked, taken off guard by that but logic was telling her that there was pretty much only one major reason why he'd know.

"Like I said, your brother sent me, Zadak. I'll take you to him, safe and sound. " Geralt assured, glad that she was alright. He looked around the basement, seeing the chair and cut ropes, but beyond that nothing else was really of interest. "T-thank you mister Witcher, I-I would like that v-very much. " She answered him, shifting softly again inside. If all will go well and she'd really just be safely carried back to her brother, then she was in for a slightly long ride. But she wasn't complaining, it was pretty snug and soft, if she had to be stuck riding inside anything, the gentle Witcher's belly was a good choice. Only thing she worried about was him technically breaking the rules of the village, hopefully he was right that since he wasn't from here he didn't have to follow them.

Geralt didn't respond verbally, but instead softly patted his middle, before he started to head back up and out of the basement, walking around the house which had him in the village again. At first everything seemed alright, maybe the woman didn't say anything or they didn't care, either way he shrugged it off and started to head towards the exit of the village and back to the path. However just as he began to leave, the guard woman stepped in front of him. "I've been told you came in here and ate someone, without permission, is this true Witcher? " She asked, axe at the ready to strike at him. "And don't lie, your punishment will be worse if you do. " Geralt let out a heavy breath, not really having the time for this, but he didn't really want to kill anybody either. So far this whole thing was going without bloodshed and he kinda wanted to keep it that way.

As he opened his mouth to explain, he was cut off by the little girl nestled inside of him. "N-no, it's not true. I... I let him e-eat me. Please leave him a-alone. " She said, hoping her word would be enough. Geralt didn't dare say anything then and just waited to see if that was enough. The woman lowered her axe, looking surprised at the Witcher's middle before looking back up to him. "Alright... if you say so, I must admit I'm surprised she's still alive. I heard a Witcher's digestive system is much quicker, for those toxic potions you lot drink. " She said, but stepped aside to let Geralt pass freely. He bowed his head respectfully in thanks and began to walk by, but not before answering her statement. "A child isn't a potion, won't get the same treatment. " He stated vaguely, not really wanting to get into the fact he wasn't going to digest her.

The woman seemed a little confused about that, but the Witcher was already walking away by the time she had anything else to say, thus she had to keep it to herself. Technically Geralt supposed it would be safe enough to let the little one out once he was no longer in view of the village, but he decided there wasn't really a reason to risk any other dangers coming along and hurting her, it would be a lot safer and easier to just let her out just outside the village where her brother was. Geralt felt the faint fluttery feeling of something moving in his stomach again, not in a panicked way but seeming to just be adjusting. "Are we out of t-the village? " She asked him quietly, as if she wanted to make sure only he could hear her. Thankfully with his keen senses, he heard her just fine and far as he knew, no one else was around. "Yeah, don't worry, we will get to your brother soon. " He assured, in case the wee girl was getting nervous about her warm, gurgling escort.

Though Nida wasn't too nervous, she did come to the cursed village out of curiosity of the process, though it was true she only wished to see it but not experience it. The Witcher wasn't quite the same, mostly due to the safeness of it if the Witcher was so kind, while the people of the village always digested who they ate throughout the day. She never knew Witchers were capable of such a thing, partly because it was only due to Geralt's additional mutations which wasn't really documented, only a normal Witcher's mutations were and even then there wasn't a whole lot of biological info on it. Though the little girl couldn't count on ever meeting one of his kind, so even if she knew, her curiosity wouldn't be sated very easily, if ever.

Still she wasn't about to complain about the situation, instead she relaxed against the belly walls, the gentle slimy flesh rippling and kneading softly against her was a strange form of comfort, she felt... safe, part of her wished she didn't have to leave this little safe haven, but alas she had to and she of course wanted to get back to her brother. As Geralt walked, his stomach did sway side to side, but not in a quick or uncomfortable way, it was more like a cradle for a baby, swaying left and right to soothe the little one, it worked on the child just as well. Nida found herself dozing off or trying to in the warm, snuggly belly, finding herself snuggling against the plush softness by the time the Witcher got back to the rock.

Geralt was feeling every little movement of hers and based on it, he could tell she was fixing to fall asleep. She wouldn't be the first one to find such comfort in him and want to rest, he always found it... touching, but he didn't like the idea of having to wake her up. Still he also didn't have the heart to keep her from falling asleep either, then again he supposed he was in no hurry... Maybe her brother wouldn't mind letting his sister sleep if he knew she was safe and sound. It was a risk to tell him what he did, but maybe just maybe he had similar understanding and a open mind like Nida. Once he got to the rock, he paused, glancing down at his middle before giving a tender, gentle few rubs to his gut, mostly to let her know he didn't forget about her and noticed she was sleepy. It was getting late, not dark but sneaking up to evening and little humans needed lots of rest.

His response was some half conscious mumbles and a few more light movements as she got settled, likely all but fully asleep now. Geralt let a faint smile appear on his face before he started back on the trail, following the path back. It took a little bit of time, but soon enough he began to see the small village houses in the distance, her brother pacing around the edge of the village, looking anxious and worried, awaiting the man's return. Once Zadak saw Geralt, a look of relief spread over his face for a moment, but then it fell when he noticed his sister wasn't visually with him. The Witcher walked up to the young lad, getting ready to explain what happened and such. "Where is she? Is she... ? " He asked, unable to finish the sentence. Geralt's hard to read face was driving him a little nuts in the short moment.

"She's fine, safe, don't worry. Can we talk privately though? " He asked, not wanting the rest of the village to find out what he did. Zadak had a look of relief on his face to hear Nida was alright, but wasn't sure what to think of Geralt's request. He didn't really notice the Witcher's slightly bulkier middle and was more waiting to hear she decided to stay over in the other village or something. "Um, yeah sure... " Normally he wouldn't wander off from the village, but with a Witcher surely he figured it was safe, the man would slay anything that threatened them. Geralt gave a brief bow of his head and turned, heading off to the nearest tree, Zadak following him as they went behind it. The tree did seem far enough from the village to be out of sight, out of mind and if they spoke softly, no one should hear them.

Geralt leaned against the tree while Zadak stood there nervously, wringing his hands and waiting for the Witcher to speak. "Your sister is safe, with me but... I had to swallow her to get her out of there safely. " He said, unsure how else to break the news any other way. He gave the boy a moment to process, watching him look down at Geralt's middle with a slight look of horror. "Y-you... but how? Once you leave the village the magic no longer applies. " He said, shifting on his feet with unease. It was understandable, but the Witcher hoped he could talk him down. "Don't need the magic, the mutations suit the need just fine, better even. " If it wasn't for the mutations the girl wouldn't be safe after all. Zadak was still confused and worried, but decided not to question it. "Can you let her out now then? " He asked, wanting to see her and know she was safe with his own two eyes, instead of a lump in the Witcher's belly.

Geralt crossed his arms over his chest then. "That's what I wanted to talk to you about, she's sleeping. Was thinking she could stay until morning, if you'll allow it. " He suggested, hoping the brother would be understanding but ready to have to wake her if he wasn't. "Uhh… as long as you promise not to leave the village until she's out... alright, I'll trust you Witcher. I trusted you to find her and bring her back... I guess I can do the same for this. " He reasoned, clearly still uneasy but willing to have an open mind. "Nida... we don't get nice places to sleep anymore... I'm assuming it's pretty soft and warm in there... huh? " He asked afterwards, looking back up at Geralt's face, mostly watching those eyes of his for any signs of malice.

The Witcher wasn't entirely sure, but given how comforted and sleepy most little ones he ate were, he could only assume it was. "Seems to be, she's not the first to sleep in here. " He told him truthfully, not afraid to admit the fact this wasn't the first time. It was both unnerving yet relieving to hear, unnerving that the Witcher had eaten people before, but relieving that he had experience in keeping them safe and comfortable. "That's good, she could use the rest... this land is cold, unforgiving and hard. " He said, sighing and relaxing the best he could. Geralt nodded silently in agreement to his words, before getting up off the tree. "If I'm going to stay in the village, may as well be with you so you don't have to worry. C'mon, let's get back. " The Witcher suggested.

Zadak nodded in agreement, he would feel better if he was with the Witcher, maybe get to know the man better if he was willing to share. "Alright.. y-yeah, sure. " He couldn't help the instinctual fear of having a literal people eater in his presence, a child eater to be exact, but it was for a good cause and he assumed all the others he swallowed was also for a equally good reason. The two males then went back to the village, Zadak sitting back on the stump while Geralt knelt down on the ground across from him in a mediating position, listening to the questions he had and answering how he felt was fit. Some questions he avoided or wouldn't answer, mostly personal ones, but less personal ones Geralt didn't mind answering. Zadak soon learned of his boundaries and respected them, feeling better the more he learned.

Soon night came and Zadak turned in, heading inside one of the houses to escape the cold and rest. Geralt, sticking true to his word but not having a place to sleep, decided to mediate outside of the house, not far from the door. The whole time Nida slept soundly, peaceful and happy snuggled in the nice Witcher's tummy. She knew she'd have to come out eventually, but in the meantime she was going to get as much warm, safe rest as she could.


End file.
